Coastal Fury Boxset (1-3)

by Matt Lincoln

  “I don’t know how, but the son of a bitch is conscious. He doesn’t have long, though.”

  “Thanks.” I clapped the man on the shoulder.

  Kelley lay on the floor of the boat with blood-soaked gauze packed in his middle. The captain started the boat and headed us over to the LRI’s hatch at the back of the cutter.

  “Well, Marston, you win.” Kelley’s voice was a shadow of its former self.

  “I didn’t win shit. I stopped you.”

  “Me? Yeah.” He shivered and frowned. “So that’s how it feels…” His eyelids fluttered but then snapped open. “I served a higher purpose. God and country. Real patriots know what it’ll take. Ask Farr. He knows.” His mouth stretched into a beatific smile. “They’ll… they’ll burn it down.” His voice was no more than a whisper. “You’ll see.”

  “Go to hell,” I spat.

  A foamy red laughed bubbled up from his throat, and then Simon Kelley stilled forever.

  37

  Tessa hated being out of visual range of the takedown, but the Coast Guard cutter was far too large to navigate the channels through the salt marshes.

  She didn’t want to admit to herself that it was a relief to be away from the danger for once, especially when Ethan was in the middle of it. The uncertainty drove a spike into her heart. Yes, he was often involved in dangerous operations, but she rarely knew about them. She tried to imagine knowing about every mission. Her chest hurt just thinking about it.

  “They’ve gone in,” a Coastie informed them. “Gunfire reported.”

  Donald put his hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be fine.”

  “I wish I felt more confident about that,” she told him.

  He squeezed her shoulder once and let go to cross his arms. Even in his five-figure suit, he looked the epitome of a fleet admiral on the cutter deck. Tessa felt out of place with all the uniformed Coasties now that she was back in civilian wear with her Capri pants and sleeveless blouse.

  “Female subject approaching dock in civvie boat,” the Coastie updated. “Kelley running for a boat.”

  Tessa pressed against the rail as if it’d get her that much closer to seeing what was happening. She thought she might hear cracks of gunfire, but the cutter’s engines and the general cacophony covered up the noise. She’d give almost anything to be on the scene to know her friends were okay, especially Ethan.

  A popping sound came from the estate’s direction, and then a boom echoed across the islands and water. Tessa spun to face the Coastie as he got the report.

  “Kelley is on a boat,” he told them. “He fired an RPG into the dock. Wilson hit. Agents Marston and Holm made it back to shore.” He cocked his head and listened. “They’re… Hold on.”

  “Come on, come on,” Tessa said under her breath.

  “Easy,” Donald said in her ear. “They’ll get him. Kelley’s running out of options.”

  “Marston, Holm, and Stark are on the arms skiff… Belay that. Marston and Holm are on the chase boat. Stark seems to be taking the skiff out of battle range.” The Coastie stepped toward the rail while keeping a hand on his headset. A deep thrum hummed through the deck. “Kelley’s boat is coming toward us. Launching LRI.”

  For a moment, Tessa was torn. She’d never seen the Long Range Interceptor in person, let alone launching from a cutter, but she had a job to do. The job came first, and she pulled out the backup camera she’d left in Miami when they left for Puerto Rico. The cutter was a good distance from shore, and they started chugging in. Ordered shouts rang out from the rear of the cutter as they launched the smaller boat.

  Tessa pointed her lens toward the inlet channel. There, barely visible, was a white speck moving faster than a boat ought to in the marshy channels. She lowered the camera and saw the LRI bouncing out of the cutter’s wake.

  “There’s nowhere for him to go,” Donald observed. “He’s as good as ours.”

  “What is your deal with this guy?” Tessa asked. She kept her voice low to avoid challenging him in front of the military crew. “You didn’t fly in the last time I was kidnapped and almost killed. Why now, why with Kelley?”

  Donald looked down his nose at her. For a moment, he seemed like a completely different person. A person with absolute authority, steel resolve, and no tolerance for questioning. Tessa resisted the impulse to shrink away.

  “There are some things I cannot and will not discuss with you,” he told her in a cold tone. “I love you as if you were my own, Tessa, and I would do anything to protect you. That is why I’m telling you to drop it. Now.”

  She looked away first. Donald had always had that effect on her, and the more she learned, the more it bothered her. As she lifted her camera to look for photo opportunities, she thought about how nice it might be to live in Miami, where it was summer year-round.

  Kelley’s boat was just into view of the long lens. She snapped a few shots and then looked for the chase boat Ethan was in. They were still a good distance back but looked to be gaining. Kelley’s boat got close enough that she saw someone with blond hair at the wheel. Charity. Tessa took several shots in hopes of getting a clearer view.

  The LRI charged in Kelley’s direction as Charity took a hard turn south, but Ethan’s boat was closer. Kelley stood in the back, exchanging his clothes for a wetsuit as he appeared to be arguing with Charity. As their boat veered south, Tessa got a better view from behind and took pictures. Charity wildly gestured with one hand while she steered with the other.

  Kelley zipped his wetsuit and grabbed something from below where Tessa could see. He turned in Ethan and Robbie’s direction but raised his arm sideways toward Charity, gun in hand.

  “No!” Tessa yelled as her camera clicked away.

  Kelley’s arm barely kicked back, and Charity dropped out of sight. He pointed toward the white chase boat, and the same minimal kickback happened two or three times. Ethan’s boat was closer by then, and Tessa saw he and Holm pull diving tanks on over their undershirts and fatigue pants.

  Kelley stepped into the water just before the chase boat pulled alongside. Ethan and Holm finished getting ready, and then they leapt in. The LRI parked next to both boats as well. Coasties swarmed Kelley’s vessel and lashed it to another support boat that had arrived to tow it.

  “They’re calling for medical rescue,” the Coastie behind her announced.

  Tessa jumped a little. She’d forgotten his presence since the boats had come into view.

  “Medical?” she echoed. “For Charity?”

  Tessa thought she’d seen Charity take the shot to her head, but maybe not. With someone like Kelley at the trigger, though, she’d have been dead if he wished it.

  “Patient is conscious. Rescue helicopter being called in.”

  “What if someone else gets hurt and needs to be flown out?” Tessa asked. Her imagination created all sorts of terrible scenarios in which the chopper needed to be close by.

  “Charleston isn’t far from here,” Donald said calmly. “There’d be time.”

  The inability to do anything to help ate at Tessa. Photography was her forte, but it didn’t feel like enough, not when Ethan and Robbie were in so much danger.

  Someone broke the surface next to the LRI. Now that the cutter was so close, she could see there were two divers. One diver barely moved, and a dark area spread in the water around them. The Coasties on the LRI hauled the lifeless diver onto their deck. He had on the undershirt and military pants that Ethan and Holm wore. Tessa’s knees felt unstable, but she stayed upright. A shock of yellow hair told her it was Holm.

  Ethan remained in the water. A shadow came up from behind, and Kelley reared up from the surface to grab Ethan’s neck. They went under. Coasties in the LRI piled out of the enclosed troop space. Each wore a wetsuit and grabbed their diving gear. Tessa got shots of them going into the water. She was sure they’d be great, but it was hard to care.

  The monstrous beats of a Coast Guard Jayhawk’s rotors stole her attention. She took photos of
the aircraft’s approach while checking in the water for signs of Ethan. It was impossible to see below the surface on such a gray day, with storm clouds gathering in the southwestern skies.

  One of the Coasties noticed first.

  “Shark,” he yelled from the cutter deck. “Whoa, those are lemon sharks. That’s weird.”

  Tessa looked to where he had pointed. Sure enough, a shark fin broke the surface, and the animal had a second dorsal fin. She pointed to it for Donald, but it went back under. She used the polarizing lens to see just under the surface of the water through her camera. Several lemon sharks circled in the area. She looked up seconds later to see a dark patch spread in the water. Blood, but if it was from a knife wound or a shark bite, she couldn’t tell.

  Two dark heads surfaced a few moments later, but Tessa couldn’t see which diver was who, especially since they ended up on the other side of LRI.

  “Ethan!” The scream ripped through her throat before she realized what she was doing. She kept at it. “Ethan!”

  A light flashed at her eyes from in the water. She looked, and it was Ethan. Relief boiled through her body, more so when the Jayhawk hovered over the LRI with first one basket and then the other. It began to rain as the LRI headed back to the cutter. Someone offered Tessa an umbrella as she put her camera away, but she shrugged it off. She gave the bag to Donald and ran back to where the LRI was to return.

  In no time and yet too long, Ethan made it aboard the cutter via the LRI’s recovery into its bay. The soft rain turned into a deluge as Ethan got on deck. Tessa ran to him and gave him the biggest hug she’d ever given. She didn’t care about getting soaked by him or the rain.

  The Coastie who’d been giving updates caught up with Tessa. He snapped a salute at Ethan.

  “Sir, ma’am, Special Agent Holm has arrived at the hospital and is being prepped for surgery.” He gestured over the rail to where a four-seat speedboat closed in on the cutter. “Your ride is on approach.”

  Tessa transferred over to the speedboat with Ethan. Now that the danger was over, she didn’t want to let go. She just hoped she wouldn’t have to hold him at a funeral for a friend.

  38

  Holm’s parents arrived in Charleston from Tampa on a private plane charter Diane arranged as soon as she got word of the severity of his injury.

  Linda and Ben Holm met Tessa and me in the surgical waiting area. I’d met them before, but Tessa hadn’t. If it had been under better circumstances, it would’ve been fun to see a reaction to Ben looking like Robbie, more like brothers than father and son. As it was, if Tessa noticed, she chose not to mention it.

  “Ethan, how is he?” Linda asked in a rough voice. Her red-rimmed eyes begged for good news.

  I rubbed the back of my head, unsure of how to answer. Fortunately, the surgeon walked into the room. His blue scrubs swished as he took a seat opposite Linda and Ben.

  “You’re Robert’s parents?” he asked.

  Ben nodded. Linda wrapped herself around his right arm.

  “We’ll be in there for a little while yet,” the surgeon told them. His gentle voice somehow made it sound less bad. “That knife did some real damage.” The doctor took a significant look at the Ka-Bar still strapped to my leg as if it had been the one that had hurt Holm. I leaned forward to block it from Linda’s view. “The good news is that we got the worst of it. We’re going through again to make sure we didn’t miss anything, and then we have to close up.”

  “Can I get you some coffee or something?” I offered. I needed an excuse to get out of there and leave them to their privacy. “I can get that or food.”

  Linda sniffed and forced a smile. “Thank you, Ethan. That’d be nice. It’s just…” She pointed at the combat knife. “Is that the same kind that hurt him?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Near enough.”

  “I… I just can’t—”

  “Mrs. Holm, I’ll find a place to put it. You won’t have to see it again.”

  I took Tessa down to the lobby. Muñoz, Birn, and Stark were getting their visitor stickers as we got off the elevators. Like me, they hadn’t changed from their fatigues worn during the raid.

  “How is he?” Birn asked. Worry lines creased the corners of his eyes.

  “In surgery still,” I told them. “The surgeon seems to think he’ll make it.” I swallowed. This was my best friend we were talking about. “We’ll know more in a while.”

  Muñoz nodded and handed Tessa and me a Target bag each.

  “I figured you two wouldn’t leave the hospital for a while, so we stopped to get you something clean and dry. Birn will pick up your stuff from the field office as soon as debriefs are done.”

  “Thanks, Sylvia.” I opened my bag to find sweats and clean socks… and an Air Force shirt. “Very funny,” I told her.

  “Buyer chooses.” She winked but then gave me a hug. I froze. Muñoz hugged no one. “We were only going upstairs to drop that off. I guess we can go now. We’ll be back after our briefing.”

  “I’ll walk out with you,” I said as I patted my leg for their attention. “I need another favor.”

  The rain had stopped for a while, and we all went out to the car they’d borrowed. I removed my knife and handed it to Stark for safekeeping.

  “I can’t be carrying that in the hospital. I already look like Rambo in there.” I took a deep breath but couldn’t beat a yawn. “Will you look after it until we’re done here?”

  Stark held her hands out, and I laid the sheathed knife and leg strap across her palms. She handled it as if it were a samurai sword. Maybe it was, in a way.

  “I won’t let anything happen to it,” she promised.

  “Tessa, you can go back with them,” I offered. “See the admiral, talk about whatever you need to talk about.”

  “That might be—” she began, but Birn cut her off.

  “He left. As soon as we went ashore, he took a plane back to New York. Said he has deadlines to meet.” He sent an apologetic look to Tessa. “Sorry. I know you wanted to see him before he left.”

  Tessa’s lips thinned, and her eyes narrowed. Lightning arced across the sky behind her as if she’d called it. Thunder rumbled throughout the area. Without another word, she turned her back and walked inside.

  “I guess she’s staying with me,” I said with a flat attempt at humor. “Seriously, guys, thanks. I’ll call as soon as I know something.”

  That call came sooner than I expected. The rest of Holm’s insides looked good, and they got a plastic surgeon to tidy up the gnarly wound. He came out of anesthesia fine only to fall sound asleep with the help of some meds.

  “We’re going to be at a hotel,” I told the Holms. “The team isn’t in any shape to travel tonight, so we’ll be close by. We can get you a room if you like.”

  “No, I want to be here with my son,” Linda said with a kind smile. “You look half dead yourself, Ethan. Get that rest.”

  Birn picked us up soon after that. He had some updates for us on the way to the hotel. I sat in the back with Tessa because, dammit, I needed to be close to her.

  “The ME finished with Kelley already. Dumas is having a shit fit, but the body’s here, and she isn’t.” He chuckled. “Turns out this ME knows a thing or two about sharks. It was a lemon shark that got Kelley. A damned lemon shark.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Tessa blurted out. “They hardly ever go after people. They’re not nearly as aggressive as others.”

  “Right,” I agreed. “That’s… wow. Dare Lemon’s murderer is killed by a lemon shark. Birn, you’re a spiritual guy. What d’you think about it?”

  “I think Kelley’s rotting in hell and Dare Lemon helped send him there. Simple as that.”

  “I’m okay with that,” Tessa said.

  I laughed. “Yeah, I am too. Has anyone told Bridget Lemon?”

  “Muñoz called her. She won rock, paper, scissors.” Birn shook his head. “That woman beats me at that game every time.”

  “What about Charity Ander
son?” Tessa asked. Her brow wrinkled. “Is she even alive?”

  Birn was slow to nod. A mighty sigh came from his direction as he turned left into the hotel parking lot.

  “I don’t know if she’s lucky or unlucky,” he eventually said. “There’s scarring, and they’re going to put a plate in the side of her head once the swelling goes down. They said she can draw letters to spell things, but there’s no speech yet. She’ll probably survive, but they don’t know how far she’ll heal.”

  “There’ll be a trial for Greer’s murder,” I added. Tessa turned away and watched out the window. “I know that was hard, but we need you to testify.”

  She nodded. “It’s just that she didn’t have to kill him. It was a game to her until Kelley shot her in the head.” She looked up at Birn. “Do they think she’ll know where to find the rest of Kelley’s stash?”

  “That’s anybody’s guess at this point,” Birn rumbled. He parked the car. “In we go. Oh, and Stark has news of her own.”

  I never knew what to expect from younger agents having news to share. It could be anything from quitting, getting married, going to the military, or who knew what. Tessa held my hand as we went into the hotel. MBLIS had rented two rooms, and the party was in the girls’ room. We went in to find a bottle of champagne had been uncorked and poured into SOLO cups. Pizza was the entrée and potato chips, the hors d’oeuvres.

  “Does this have to do with Abbie’s big announcement?” Tessa inquired as she scooped up a generous slice of pepperoni.

  “It is,” Stark told us. Her rosy cheeks and loose hair suggested she’d had quite a bit to drink so far. “I’m getting promoted!”

  “You got it?” I clapped my hands once and hooted. “You got it!”

  “Director Ramsey said it came through during the raid.” She hiccuped. Wow, for a badass, that girl was a lightweight. “Special Agent Stark, at your service.”

  “Congratulations!” Tessa ran over and hugged her.

  That was not a shock. The shock was when Muñoz made it a hug pile. Champagne splashed on the bed, but nobody cared. They all spoke at once, and I couldn’t understand a damned thing.